The BJP’s strategy hinges on getting as many MLAs as it can from the opposition camp to abstain from voting in the floor test which will then be decided on the strength of the house on the given day.

The BJP with 104 MLAs is eight short of the majority mark. It hopes to get the support of one independent but there are reports that it may lose one MLA to the Congress-Janata Dal (S) combine.

The BJP also claimed that many JD(S) and Congress MLAs were willing to switch loyalty. The BJP has ample time to prove majority as the governor has given two weeks for the floor test. Its strategy is to either make some rival MLAs resign or abstain to avoid the anti-defection law – it requires a two-third split in a party to be a legal defection.

All the parties are chasing the magic number of 112 in the 222-member house. With some MLAs abstaining or resigning, the halfway mark will come down, making it easy for the BJP to pass the floor test.

The JD(S) has already made a sensational claim that the BJP was offering Rs 100 crore to its MLAs. The Congress and the Janata Dal (S) has claimed support of 117 MLAs.